The problem under study and the main purpose of the research:
Investigation of the properties of nuclear matter with extremely high density and temperature, search for the signatures of the quark deconfinement and possible phase transitions at the collisions of heavy nuclei at the energies of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Measurement of spin dependent structure functions of nucleons and nuclei using polarized proton beams at RHIC.

Expected results upon completion of the project: 

1. Obtaining information about the properties of excited nuclear matter. Participation in experiments with nuclei and polarized protons at the STAR facility at the RHIC nuclear collider at BNL.

2. Measurement at the STAR facility of spin effects in experiments with polarized protons. Obtaining new information about the spin – dependent distribution functions of quarks and gluons in the proton.

3. Research of femtoscopic correlations, structure of events and scaling properties of nuclear interactions, global polarization, events with wide transverse momenta.

4. Conducting experiments on the Beam Energy Scan program BESII in the collider mode and in the fixed target mode. Search for signatures of phase transitions and critical points of QCD.

5. Development of the STAR detector software and creation of corresponding infrastructure at JINR for processing and analysis of experimental data of the STAR facility at JINR.

6.  Creation of the joint educational programs in relativistic nuclear physics and physics of the microworld together with BNL and JINR member states universities.

Expected results of the project this year: 

1. Beam Energy Scan II data analysis for collider mode and fixed target measurements.
   
   
2. Study of spin effects in collisions of transversely polarized protons at 510 GeV and forward rapidities.
   
   
3. Study of event structure, collective variables, correlation characteristics, femtosopic correlation functions and high-p_T processes.
   
   
4. Study of future possibility of investigation of the nuclear structure and the proton spin in e-p and e-A collisions at colliders.
   
   
5. Participation in joint educational programs in relativistic nuclear physics with BNL and universities of the JINR Member States. Development of JINR educational portal.